Irenopolis or Eirenopolis or Eirenoupolis () was an ancient and medieval city in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

era

Isauria Isauria ( or ; ), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya P ...

History

Located in the Calycadnus basin, it was part of the Decapolis of Isauria. The city is mentioned by Hierocles in the sixth century and

George of Cyprus George of Cyprus (; Latinized as ''Georgius Cyprius'') was a Greek Byzantine geographer of the early seventh century. Nothing is known of his life save that he was a Byzantine Greek born at Lapithos in the island of Cyprus. He is known for his ...

in the seventh. It figures in the ''

Notitia Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mos ...

'' of Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch in the sixth century, and in the ''Descriptio Orbis Romani'' by

(7th century). and in the '' Nova Tactica'' of the 10th century, as attached to the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

. At this period, the

Byzantine emperors The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

had taken the province of

from the

Patriarchate of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

Location

W. M. Ramsay, following John Sterrett, identifies Irenopolis with Irnebol, of which he does not indicate the exact situation. It actually corresponds to the existing villages of Çatalbadem (formerly Yukarı İrnebol meaning "Irenopolis from above") and İkizçınar (formerly Aşağı İrnebol meaning "Irenopolis from below"), in the district of Ermenek, Karaman Province .

Bishopric

The city was the seat of an ancient

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. Five of its bishops are known: * John (325) * Menodorus (451) * Paul (458) * George (692) * Euschemon (878). In 1915 the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

was in name re-established as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. there have been six titular bishops: Cardinal Edward Mooney

Jožef Pogačnik 1920s * Giuseppe Ridolfi (1915–1925) *

Edward Aloysius Mooney Edward Aloysius Mooney (May 9, 1882 – October 25, 1958) was an American Catholic prelate who was Archbishop of Detroit from 1937 until his death in 1958. He was made a cardinal in 1946. He previously served as an apostolic delegate to Ind ...

(1926–1933) Cardinal Mooney
at

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

webpage. * Paul-Marie Richaud (1933–1938) * Jean-Germain Mousset (문제만 제르마노), (1938–1957) *James Vincent Pardy (파 야고보), (1958–1962) *

Jožef Pogačnik Jožef Pogačnik (October 19, 1866 in Podnart – August 18, 1932) was a Slovenian politician who served as Prime Minister of Slovenes within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast a ...

(1963–1964) * George Alapatt (1970–1971)

Coins

Coins found bearing the name Irenopolis belong rather to a city of the same name located in

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, the ancient Neronias, some of whose bishops are also known.

Notable people

The 9th century

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Gregory of Decapolis was born in the city.

References

External links

{{Authority control Catholic titular sees in Asia Populated places in ancient Isauria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman towns and cities in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire